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Saturday, September 4, 2010

Back To School and a Snack Recipe

New shoes, new clothes, new schedules, new teachers, new subjects, and new school supplies are all part of the excitement of going back to school. I love how hard my kids seem to attack life. I love seeing their passion and intensity when something is important to them. Each of their personalities come out and shine in different ways.

All their excitement and hard work can work up an appetite! Sometimes a granola bar or a banana cuts it in the snack department and sometimes it doesn't! So for the days that the kids come home STARVING I try to serve them something a little more substantial. And since this is one of my favorite lunches, I usually have the ingredients on hand for this snack.

This is a fantastic little super snack or appetizer. I usually use a whole grain French bread, but for the kids I am using a white loaf of soft French bread. The cheese is super mild and contains protein and calcium. And the avocado is not only yummy but a great source of heart healthy omega three's and fiber! So serve this snack with a smile and confidence that you are doing something really good for your kids and yourself.

The board of ingredients is again simple things that will be transformed into something amazing with very little work.

Start with a 3/4 inch slice of bread. Pop it is the toaster and toast it on the highest setting you can get without burning your bread. You want crunchy toasted bread for this snack.

Drizzle a touch of extra virgin olive oil on the bread and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on the bread. At this point, you have got something really yummy, but we are not finished yet.

Add a thin slice of fresh mozzarella cheese to the seasoned hot bread. It is not going to melt all the way and you don't want it to. You just want the cheese slightly warmed.

Avocados are so amazing. I love them. I really love them. Now you want to cut your avocado in half by running the knife along the middle of your avocado. See the picture below for a visual guide.

Twist the halves in opposite directions.

Then gently pull the avocado apart. This is a beautiful avocado. Sometimes when you bring them home from the grocery store they still need a bit of time to ripen. A ripe avocado should smell like an avocado and it should have the tiniest bit of give to it when you press gently on the skin.

Run your knife through the avocado to slice it while it is still in the tough skin. It is just easier to slice the fruit before you peel it. Trust me.

To peel the avocado, just run a spoon between the avocado flesh and the skin. Spin the spoon around a few times until everything separated.

Top your fresh mozzarella slices with a few avocado slices. Drizzle a tiny bit of fruity olive oil over the avocado. Finally the tiniest sprinkle of kosher salt finishes this snack.